Harold's Story.
Lance Corporal Harold Harrison 11606 of the 8th Bn Cheshire Regiment died of his wounds in Manchester on Tuesday 19th October 1915.He was 24 years old.
Harold was born in the early spring of 1891, the third son of William Harrison (1861–1894) and Isabella Mary Joynson (1862–1892). He had siblings William Alfred (1883 - 1970), James Andrew (1889 –1915) and Ada Annie (1885 - 1974). There was another sister Maggie Mildred, who died in 1888, aged one year. The family home was at 6 William Street, Seacombe, Wallasey. By the age of three, Harold had been orphaned, and in 1901 he was living in an Orphan's Home in Liverpool with his older brotherJames. (James was also to die in 1915, killed in an explosion aboard HMS Natal in Scotland on 30th December. He was a Band Corporal in the Royal Marine Band.)
By the time he was twenty, Harold had left the children's home but he has not so far been located on the 1911 census. He is known to have been living at Bibby Farm, Worthington, Standish near Wigan in the period 1905-1910. In April 1911, his two brothers were living at 13 Hallville Road, Seacombe and his sister Ada was working as a servant at 50 Gordon Road, Ealing.
Harold enlisted into the 8th Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment, regimental number 11606. The Battalion had training camps at Chiseldon, near Swindon, and from October 1914, at Codford St. Mary's Army Camp, Wiltshire. They served in Galippoli and may perhaps have been involved in the second attack on Hill 60 on 27-28 August 1915. (See at the end of this page the 8th Battalion's movements). Harold is mentioned as having been wounded in Galippoli, in the newspapers of 13th September 1915. Family history indicates that he may have sustained his wounds at Suvla Bay.
Morning Post - Monday 13 September 1915
He was evacuated back to the UK, possibly aboard the SS Perseus. He was transferred to a hospital in Manchester, where he died on 19th October 1915.
Chester Chronicle - Saturday 01 January 1916
Harold was buried in Manchester Southern Cemetery, after a military funeral.
A memorial service was held at Holy Innocents' Church on 23rd January 1916 for Harold, his brother James and another soldier who had been at the Orphan's Asylum in Liverpool:
Harold's War Gratuity was paid to his sister Ada Annie Harrison, who was unmarried.
Harold enlisted into the 8th Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment, regimental number 11606. The Battalion had training camps at Chiseldon, near Swindon, and from October 1914, at Codford St. Mary's Army Camp, Wiltshire. They served in Galippoli and may perhaps have been involved in the second attack on Hill 60 on 27-28 August 1915. (See at the end of this page the 8th Battalion's movements). Harold is mentioned as having been wounded in Galippoli, in the newspapers of 13th September 1915. Family history indicates that he may have sustained his wounds at Suvla Bay.
Morning Post - Monday 13 September 1915
He was evacuated back to the UK, possibly aboard the SS Perseus. He was transferred to a hospital in Manchester, where he died on 19th October 1915.
Chester Chronicle - Saturday 01 January 1916
Harold was buried in Manchester Southern Cemetery, after a military funeral.
A memorial service was held at Holy Innocents' Church on 23rd January 1916 for Harold, his brother James and another soldier who had been at the Orphan's Asylum in Liverpool:
Harold's War Gratuity was paid to his sister Ada Annie Harrison, who was unmarried.
Research by Shena Lewington (April 2026) . Additional information and portraits provided by family members.
8th Battalion Cheshire Regiment CHRONOLOGY 1914 - 1918
12 August 1914 8thC formed at Chester as part of Kitchener’s First New Army (K1)
21 August 1914 Army Order No. 324 issued creating the six new Divisions, including 13th Division
August 1914 8thC moved to Tidworth in the 40th Brigade of the 13th (Western)Division
September 1914 8thC with 40th Bde moved to Cirencester
October 1914 8thC moved to Chisledon.
During October 1914 – February 1915 8thC at Codford St. Mary's Army Camp, Wiltshire
February 1915 8thC moved to Pirbright (Woking, Surrey)
End February 1915 13th Division concentrated at Blackdown, Hampshire
9 February - 16 March 1915 The Naval bombardment of the Dardanelle Straits Forts
18 March 1915 Naval attempt to force the Dardanelle Straits
25 April 1915 Landings at Cape Helles and ANZAC Cove
28 April 1915 The First Battle of Krithia
2 May 1915 Russian fleet shells forts on the Bosphorus.
2 May 1915 The Turkish night counter-attack
6 May 1915 Second Battle of Krithia begins
19 May 1915 Turkish attack at Anzac defeated
4 June 1915 Third Battle of Krithia begins
7 June 1915 All mechanical transport was withdrawn and the first reinforcement drafts were ordered not to sail (other than those for the artillery, end RE Companies). First 13th Division transports left port, and sailed to Alexandria
13 June 1915 8thC ordered to deploy to Alexandria, Egypt
26 June 1915 Pte John Williams, 8thC departs Avonmouth on HMT Ivernia for Egypt, via Malta to Alexandria arriving on 7th July 1915
28 June 1915 The Battle of Gully Ravine
4-8 July 1915 8thC deployed to Mudros, Gallipoli arriving on the Ivernia on 10 July 1915
6-16 July 1915 13th Division landed on Cape Helles to relieve 29th Division aboard the transport ship “Whitby Abbey” and landed via the grounded SS River Clyde at “V” beach, Cape Hellas
19 July 1915 8thC moved up into the firing line at Worcester Flat
25 July 1915 8thC relieved by the 8th Royal Welsh Fusiliers
28 July 1915 8thC moved to Gully Beach
31 July 1915 13th Division incl. 8thC returned to Mudros/Lemnos
3-5 August 1915 13th Division land at Anzac Cove
4 August 1915 8thC land at Anzac Cove, bivouac below Walker’s Ridge and with “Australian troops at Quinns & Courtney's”
5 August 1915 8thC with HQ, A & B Coy RWF moved up onto Russell’s Top in reserve
6-10 August 1915 ANZAC attack on Chunuk Bair, Battles of Lone Pine and Sari Bair (8thC)
7 August 1915 Battle of Russell’s Top (8thC)
7 August 1915 Landing at Suvla Bay
7-8 August 1915 “An entry in the Battalion's War Diary shows that the 8thC were in support trenches at Russell's Top and were being moved up to support the Australian Light Horse Brigade to assist in their attack at the Nek.”
9 August 1915 Half Bn at No 2 post while half Bn into support at Quinn and Courtney's Post
12 August 1915 Major W. B. Gover moves from 8thC to take command of 9th Warwickshires due to Nil Officers, Other Ranks 288
13 August 1915 Bn moved to the Apex near Chailak Dere and Rhododendron Spur
15 August 1915 8thC in positions at ‘Chailak Ridge’ where, over the next few days, they dug trenches and constructed other defences.
21 August 1915 Battle of Scimitar Hill & first attack on Hill 60 (Anzac) begin
27-28 August 1915 Second attack on Hill 60 (8thC )
28 August 1915 Canterbury Battalion NZ relieved the 8thC which had been assisting the Wellington Battalion NZ to garrison the Apex post (Durant's Post was at the junction of the trenches called Upper and Lower Cheshire Ridges, and was about five hundred yards north-west of the Apex.). Others have suggested “moved into reserve near Kaiajik Dere”
1-2 September 1915 8thC in dug-outs in the cliffs, south of Suvla Bay
1-20 September 1915 8thC moved into reserve at Suvla Bay, but lost nearly 200 men from Dysentery.
20 September 1915 8thC moved to the forward area in the Sulajik Sector
23 September 1915 8thC casualty at Lala Baba
30 September 1915 relieved in the Sulajik Sector by the 1 LF
17 October 1915 Sir Ian Hamilton relinquishes command of MEF
27 October 1915 Sir Charles Munro assumes command of MEF
13 November 1915 Lord Kitchener lands at Anzac
7 December 1915 Government orders evacuation of Anzac & Suvla
10-19 December 1915 Evacuation of ANZAC bridgehead and Suvla Bay
10 December 1915 Evacuation of Cape Helles bridgehead begins
19-20 December 1915 13th Division evacuated from Suvla
20 December 1915 Evacuation of Suvla & Anzac completed
c.26 December 1915 13th Division moved to Helles bridgehead (after ‘a weeks rest’)
7 January 1916 Last Turkish attacks at Helles repulsed, 13th Division
8-9 January 1916 13th Division evacuated from Helles
9 January 1916 Evacuation of Cape Helles bridgehead completed
January 1916 8thC Evacuated to Egypt due to severe casualties from combat, disease and harsh weather and
moved to Port Said to defend the Suez Canal.
12 February 1916 8thC Deployed to Sheikh Sa'ad, Mesopotamia for the relief of the besieged garrison at Kut al Amara and engaged the Turkish Army in various actions in 1917
27 March 1916 8thC joined the Tigris Corps in action in the unsucessful attempts to relieve Kut.
1917 13th Division were in action in The Battle of Kut al Amara, The capture of the Hai Salient, the capture of Dahra Bend and The passage of the Diyala, in the pursuit of the enemy towards Baghdad. Units of the 13th Division were the first troops to enter Baghdad, when it fell on the 11 March 1917. The Division then joined "Marshall's Column" and pushed north across Iraq, fighting at Delli 'Abbas, Duqma, Nahr Kalis, crossing the 'Adhaim on the 18 April and fighting at Shatt al 'Adhaim. Later in the year they were in action in the Second and Third Actions of Jabal Hamrin and fought at Tuz Khurmatli the following April.
31 October 1918 8thC ended the war c.13th Divisional HQ at Dawalib north of Baghdad, Mesopotamia